Fanfic Recommendation Challenge

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Black Wren Road
Author: Chris J
Characters: Chris, Joey, Nick Carter, AJ Mc Lean, JC.
Prompt: 02. AU
Rating: PG-ish
Length: Long
Brief summary: In this particular universe, Chris is a college student working on his thesis, who moved recently into a new apartment which apparently is haunted by the spirit of the murdered Nickolas Carter. With the help of Joey, a long time friend, Chris begins unraveling the mystery of Nick’s death in 1916. Filled with small cameos of members of both bands, other pop stars and people important in the lives of *N Sync and BSB, Black Wren Road is a very good AU and a terrific mystery story.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Black Wren Road

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Imaginary Boyfriend
Author: Tracy
Characters: Chris, Joey.
Prompt: 50. Reccer’s Choice
Rating: R
Length: Short
Brief summary: A weird take on the ‘Be careful what you wish for’, Chris finds himself with a version of Joey that is the perfect boyfriend. Perfect in every sense except for the fact that it isn’t the real Joey. It’s very interesting to see how Chris reacts, especially when he realizes that his perfect Joey is not Joey, and the way he deals with the situation.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Imaginary Boyfriend

Well, this is it. 50 recs. It was a great ride, and I hope you all enjoyed the fics as much as I did. I don’t think I’ll be doing Round III, but you will probably see me again for Round IV, because I had a lot of fun.

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: When the Tick Meet Mr. T.
Author: Naiad
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, JC, Justin
Prompt: 23. Time
Rating: PG
Length: Longish.
Brief summary: Au where Joey owns a comic book store with Lance, while Chris moves in next door to open a vintage records store. The fic takes place from the moment when Chris starts fixing the store before the opening to the point when Joey’s store gets in trouble. It’s not a long time, but the most important thing of the story is HOW that time passes, and that the time passed. It even has a moment in which you can see the deadline for Joey coming closer and closer, which made me pick it for this prompt.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: When the Tick meet Mr. T.

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: The Same Inside
Author: Helen
Characters: Chris, Joey, Justin, JC, Lance
Prompt: 31. Discovery
Rating: R
Length: Medium
Brief summary: Chris turns into a girl. I think that The Same Inside was one of the first, if not the first, gender bender in popslash and it has been probably recc’ed to death but I couldn’t think of a better fic for the Discovery prompt. Why? Because it’s not only a very good crack!fic, or a good cliché (The one where everyone turns into something else at least once), but also a fic where Joey does a lot of self discovery once he realizes that he is attracted to his best friend
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: The Same Inside

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Wilt
Author: turps33
Characters: Chris, Joey
Prompt: 06. Anger
Rating: PG
Length: Short
Brief summary: Joey needs some time alone. A short fic, that delves mostly in Joey’s state of mind at the moment, although Chris’s reactions are also described in detail. It’s a very brief window into their lives, but as a vignette, works perfectly fine.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: wilt


Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Textbook Case
Author: Arsenic
Characters: Chris, Joey, JC, Lance, Justin
Prompt: 37. Make up
Rating: PG
Length: Long
Brief summary: Arsenic has only written two Chris/Joey fics, and this one was the first. AU where all the guys are in a boarding school, and Chris, being there thanks to a scholarship, ends up tutoring Joey, becoming his roommate for the semester. Despite the fact that the school has a ‘system’ for situational homosexuality which means that they can have a relationship without anyone getting suspicious, both manage to misunderstand the other and have a couple of big fights before and after getting together. All in all, an incredible read.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Textbook Case

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Surrender
Author: Cherry
Characters: Chris, Joey, Justin, JC, Lance
Prompt: 05. Sex
Rating: R
Length: Short
Brief summary: Joey is a slut who will sleep with everyone in the group. After all, it’s just sex. But for Chris, it really isn’t just sex and no matter how much he tries to convince himself otherwise, he’s getting ready to be really hurt. While it doesn’t delve enough in Joey’s thoughts which make Joey come out as a bit of a jerk, it’s a very well written fic with a bitter sweet conclusion that should really be in every ‘must read’ list.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Surrender (Wayback Machine link)

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Over the Years
Author: Terri turps33
Characters: Chris, Joey.
Prompt: 38. Kiss
Rating: PG
Length: Short
Brief summary: Four kisses, that pretty much sum up Chris and Joey’s relationship. Short, sweet and to the point, I’ll freely admit that I melt somewhere between kiss 2 and kiss 3. The narration flows like a fairytale, which makes it even more sweet to read.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Over the Years

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Shakespeare Backwards
Author: JackieB
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, Kelly.
Prompt: 48. Reccer’s Choice
Rating: PG
Length: Short
Brief summary: I re-discovered this short fic while re-reading fics centered around the hiatus. Since Joey got married in RL not really that long ago, there are some very good fics that deal with that and still manage to get him together with one of the guys in a realistic way. It’s been a year after the marriage, and Kelly is having problems to deal with married life, which has nothing to do with Joey being in sort of love with Chris, for a change. It’s mostly a Joey piece, but it gives a very special view to the dynamics behind a Joey/Chris pairing.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Shakespeare Backwards


Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: 597
Author: powrhug
Characters: Chris, Joey.
Prompt: 41.Drabble
Rating: G
Length: 100 Words.
Brief summary: I’ll admit I don’t like drabbles much. But this one pretty much sums up all the reasons why Chris and Joey work as a pairing for me. Also, it’s a drabble in the traditional sense, being exactly 100 words and not (almost) 100 words. Amazingly, it tells a story in that short moment, which is why I really recommend it to everyone.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: 597

My big Choey Table

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Once.
Author: lucylooo
Characters: Chris, Joey.
Prompt: 01. First Time
Rating: R-ish.
Length: Medium.
Brief summary: There are quite a few first time stories in popslash. There’s the both of them are virgins type, the neither of them had been with a man story, and so on. Lucy’s story is a surprise because not only Joey has never been with a man, he’s straight. He’s just caving to Chris’s seduction techniques because Chris is persistent. And he gives him one chance. Just one night to prove him he’s really good. Chris delivers.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Once

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: The Old Apartment
Author: visionshadows
Characters: Chris, Joey.
Prompt: 29. Oops
Rating: R
Length: Short.
Brief summary: This story is one of those that fit in like, three prompts. After a lot of thinking, I choose oops mostly because it’s about things that neither Chris nor Joey meant to say to the other and they end up saying them in the worst possible moment, which leads to a very strange situation that lasts for the whole duration of *N Sync, and ends up back when everything started, at an apartment that Chris and Joey used to share before *N sync. Told mostly in flashbacks, there are a couple of scenes that makes you want to reach out and bang their heads together, to see if they finally get it. It’s that good.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: The Old Apartment

My big Choey Table

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: The Wake of War
Author: Lucy Hale
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, JC, Justin
Prompt: 16. Teamwork
Rating: Pg-13
Length: Longish
Brief summary: Historical AU, set right after the end of the Civil War. Lance is the last of his family, living in a ruined Jackson, Justin is a southern soldier who finds shelter in the remains of the Bass house. JC and Joey are Yankees who end up with them because they had to leave New York since Joey was friends with Booth and thus was suspect when Lincon was killed. Chris is a mulatto, who is looking to escape from Pearlman’s plantation. The situation is bad for the five, but somehow despite some very realistically portrayed prejudice and historical obstacles, they become friends, and together build something really beautiful. Besides the Choey, there’s a threesome of Lance/Justin/JC, but it doesn’t feel forced. Lucy Hale is a great AU writer, and The Wake of War is one of her best. Even if at moments you’ll want to kill Lance.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: The Wake of War

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Obvious
Author: Alexandria Brown
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, JC, Justin
Prompt: 10. Fandom Cliché
Rating: G
Length: Short.
Brief summary: Doing the rec thing I discovered popslash has a lot of clichés. Picking one for this was kind of hard. From the turn into girls!Cliche, to the Lanceisreallyreallygay!Cliche, to the Jcnevermakesanysense!Cliche, there are at least ten good stories for each. Finally, I choose the ‘theguysaskalltheothersaboutsomethingbeforedoingit!Cliche’. Which is a bit long for a cliché name. Joey is in love with Chris, Chris is completely clueless. So Joey asks JC about it. Then Lance. Then Justin gives him his opinion. Which is even the pattern of the cliché. But Alexandria makes it work, and she’s really got a good handle of their different voices, which is why I choose this, ultra-clichéd plot (It even has a bit of gay!Lance for good measure), but very good and sweet story. Because when the execution is good, the plot can be a little shaky. And this execution? Is really good.
( Really short excerpt )
Link to the story: Obvious

My big Choey Table

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: It’s a Kind of Magic
Author: Lois Lane
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, Justin, JC
Prompt: 33. Crossover
Rating: PG
Length: Short.
Brief summary: This is one of the best crossovers I’ve ever read, because even with no knowledge at all of the second fandom (Harry Potter, btw), the story works. It really doesn’t crossover characters, but universes, and now Chris is a wizard, who studied in the American equivalent of Hogwarts, and now is trying to make a living in the muggle world without being discovered. It’s not really an AU, as he is in *N Sync, and the whole story works, blending JKRowlings world with the real one almost seamlessy. One of the many stories that make me wish Lois Lane was still writing popslash.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: It’s a Kind of Magic

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Forever Means Forever
Author: Meghan
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, Brianna
Prompt: 36. Family
Rating: G.
Length: Short.
Brief summary: It’s Christmas, and Joey is leaving Chris to spend it with Kelly and Brianna, leaving Chris broken hearted. One of the things about popslash, is that good writers manage to add the canon to their stories no matter what, and Joey’s daughter appears in a lot of fics. This one, although it does fall in the ‘Kelly is not the nicest woman around’ category, manages to make the family theme work, without sidetracking too much in angst, or sex.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Forever means forever

My big Choey Table

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: The Animal Kingdom
Author: tnl
Characters: Chris, Joey, Lance, Justin, JC
Prompt: 15. Crack!Fic
Rating: PG
Length: Long (2 parts)
Brief summary: There is an unwritten rule that every single boyband member must turn into something in a fic, usually, a girl. However, TNL took that concept, spin it around and here it is, Joey as a horse, Chris as a dog. And despite the inherent silliness of that premise, The Animal Kingdom makes their relationship, and the changes, work. Still, it’s crack!fic, because, really? A horse and a dog. And they talk. But it works, and it works very well.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: The Animal Kingdom

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: What’s new pussycat?
Author: Squickgrrl
Characters: Chris, Joey, JC.
Prompt: 12. Humor
Rating: G.
Length: Short.
Brief summary: Did I mention that the ‘turn into something’ fics were a bit of a cliché? Because here’s another. This time the victim is JC, who turns into a cat, but this fic doesn’t fit the fandom cliché prompt because it’s not about JC, but about Joey –who, for varied reasons ends up taking care of him- and Chris. It’s funny, it’s short, and even when it does feel that JC turned into a cat for no reason, it’s one of those fics that make you go ‘AWWW’ (Because, really? JC as a kitten is adorable. The few parts done on JC’s POV will kill you with sweeteness)
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: What’s new, pussycat?

My big Choey Table

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Hide and Seek
Author: Marion
Characters: Chris, Joey, JC, Lance, Justin.
Prompt: 40. Confession
Rating: PG
Length: Medium.
Brief summary: Bored during the tour, the guys play hide and seek. Chris and Joey find the same hiding place, and have nothing to do but talk while the others search. It’s a cute, romantic story about confessions, experimentation and kisses, and one of the sweetest ‘I have a crush on ______” stories I’ve read.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Hide and Seek

Claim: *N Sync: Chris/Joey
Title: Not Going
Author: Lucy Hale
Characters: Chris, Joey, Justin, JC, Lance
Prompt: 08. Friendship
Rating: Mature
Length: Long.
Brief summary: The problem with the Friendship prompt is that there are many popslash fics in which the fact that the guys are friends and would do anything for each other so it’s hard to choose one. I went for Not Going because not only you can see the beautiful friendship between all of them, it is also the friendship between Joey and Chris the one that leads to something else.
( Excerpt )